Between 1991 and 2025, the percentage of high school students who reported ever having sexual intercourse fell from 54.1 percent to 28.5 percent.
Last month, the Department of Health and Human Services released updated results from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). This biennial survey asks high school students a wide range of questions about a variety of topics including physical health, mental health, drug use, and sexual behavior.
Overall, the new report contains some good news for social conservatives. In particular, it finds that the long-term decline in teen sexual activity that started in the early 1990s continues.
The 2025 YRBS data shows that in the past two years, there were decreases in the percentage of high school students who (1) ever had sexual intercourse, (2) were currently sexually active, (3) had sexual intercourse before their 13th birthday, and (4) reported having sexual intercourse with four or more partners.
Overall, between 1991 and 2025, the percentage of high school students who reported ever having sexual intercourse fell from 54.1 percent to 28.5 percent — an impressive decline of 25.6 percentage points.
These statistics are important. One of the major public policy success stories from the past 35 years has been the substantial decline in the teen birth rate. Between 1991 and 2025, the teen birth rate in the United States fell by more than 81 percent, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Countless mainstream media outlets credit increases in teen contraception use. However, a body of data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the National Survey of Family Growth show the long-term decline in teen sexual activity is playing an important role.
Interestingly, the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services has done little to publicize these findings. The report that was released with the new YRBS data focused on nutrition, physical health, sleep, digital behavior, and mental health.
These are important issues. However, considering the significant investment that social conservatives have made in abstinence programs over the years, it is disappointing the Trump HHS is not doing more to highlight this continued, long-term decline in teen sexual activity.